Thanksgiving means high school hoops, too

Football isn't the only offering over Thanksgiving weekend for sports fans. The slate is packed with compelling high school hoops matchups, many centering around events in Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina and Texas.

The biggest impact on Monday's new-look national high school rankings will emanate from the Thanksgiving Hoopfest scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Sandra Meadows Arena in Duncanville, Texas. Three teams featured in the preseason Xcellent 25 will be in action – No. 2 Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), No. 15 Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas) and No. 17 Yates (Houston).

Marcus, fresh off a tournament victory at the McDonald's Texas Invitational, meets Yates on Friday. Saturday's main event pits Grace Prep against Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas), hungry for a national ranking of its own after knocking off Yates last week. Other teams of note at the Hoopfest include Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.), Douglass (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) and Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.).

After winning its first three contests of the season by an average margin of 56.6 points per game, Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) will look to make an early-season statement at the State Farm Tournament of Champions in Washington, Ill., which got underway Tuesday. The Express face a tough three-game stretch at the event, including prep school powerhouse Tilton School (Tilton, N.H.).

The State Farm TOC features 21 teams from eight states. Champions will be crowned in four separate divisions.

While it's not a natural rivalry geographically, New York vs. Georgia should make for entertaining basketball at the Big Apple vs. Big Peach Battle. The event will be held at Shiloh High School in Snellville, Ga.

Defending Georgia AAAAA champion Norcross will be involved in two of the more intriguing pairings, taking on South Shore (Brooklyn) on Friday and Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) on Saturday. Host Shiloh, led by five-star Georgia Tech signee Robert Carter, will look to defend home court against Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn) in another Friday matchup.

The Charlotte Hoops Challenge and NorCal Tip Off Classic are two more notable events. Milton (Ga.), United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte) the The Miller School (Charlottesville, Va.) are the headliners at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge.

Thanksgiving weekend high school hoops

Nov. 22-26 State Farm Tournament of Champions
Washington Community High School/Illinois Central College (Washington, Ill.)
Teams to watch: No. 5 Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.), Park Tudor (Indianapolis, Ind.), Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.), Tilton School (Tilton, N.H.)

No. 25-26 Big Apple vs. Big Peach Battle
Shiloh High School (Snellville, Ga.)
Teams to watch: Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), Norcross (Ga.), Shiloh (Snellville, Ga.), South Shore (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.)

Nov. 25-26 Charlotte Hoops Challenge
Waddell Language Center (Charlotte, N.C.)
Teams to watch: Buford (Ga.), The Miller School (Charlottesville, Va.), Milton (Ga.), Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.), The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.), United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.)

Nov. 25-26 Thanksgiving Hoopfest
Sandra Meadows Arena (Duncanville, Texas)
Teams to watch: No. 2 Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), No. 15 Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas), No. 17 Yates (Houston, Texas), DeSoto (Texas), Douglass (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Duncanville (Texas), Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas), Kimball (Dallas, Texas), Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), Upper Room Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.), Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.), Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)

Nov. 26 NorCal Tip Off Classic
Newark Memorial High School (Newark, Calif.)
Teams to watch: Deer Valley (Antioch, Calif.), McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.), Newark Memorial (Newark, Calif.), Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.)